Regular Plans
by DFM
Summary: Castle has a bone to pick with Esposito. Demons post-ep.


**Title:** Regular Plans

**Pairing(s):** Castle/Beckett, Esposito/Lanie

**Rating:** PG

**Summary:** Castle has a bone to pick with Esposito. Demons post-ep.

**Disclaimer:** If it looks or sounds like something from Castle, I don't own it.

**Spoilers:** Demons

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><p>"Do you have any idea what you've done to me?" Castle asked without preamble the second he slid into the booth beside Ryan and across from Esposito at the Old Haunt. The younger detective looked genuinely concerned, but Castle waved him off. "Not you, Ryan."<p>

Esposito laughed, thinking the author was kidding, but at his hard expression - that said both that he wasn't kidding and that he'd been spending too much time with cops - stopped short. "Bro, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Do you know where Beckett is right now?"

"Shoe shopping?"

"N- well, okay, maybe. But more importantly, she is out with Lanie. Consoling her heartbroken friend; the woman you haven't been able to be in the same room as without one of you picking a fight all week!"

"Dude-" Ryan tried to intervene. No one had gotten away with mentioning Lanie even in passing to Esposito without getting snapped at since their break-up. Griping at him the way Castle was, Ryan found it unlikely that the writer would still have his head attached to his body in a few more seconds.

But Castle was apparently passed caring. "And do you know where she was for the past three Fridays _before_ you two broke up? Out with me. I was so close! She was opening up, believing in happy endings, but no... You and Lanie just had to give her a look at the worst-case scenario of what happens, not only when you break-up with someone you work with, but when all of your friends are friends with said ex!"

Esposito sat deathly still throughout Castle's rant, only moving to take a swig of his beer. "Excuse me, Castle," he finally responded through clenched teeth, "if your dysfunctional relationship with Beckett was not my first priority."

Ryan tried once again to jump in. "I think we need another round. Castle, why don't you-"

"Well, Lanie sure as hell wasn't your top priority. So what was?"

It spoke to the quality of glasses at the Haunt that the one in Esposito's hand didn't shatter in his grasp. "Lanie was my _only_ concern. Maybe you couldn't tell because I wasn't sticking my tongue down another woman's throat in front of her!"

Castle tried to stand up, but the combination of being in a booth and Ryan's hand on his shoulder stopped him. "I was doing what Beckett told me to do!" He was more than a little tired of explaining Serena. Being interested in Beckett was like trying date a woman with a building full of over-protective brothers.

"Yeah, well, so was I!"

There was a long pause. "Beckett told you to break up with Lanie?"

"No," Esposito sighed, looking defeated. "Lanie. I'm trying to do what Lanie wants."

"She broke up with you?" Ryan asked, no longer able to keep himself out of this conversation.

"We agreed on a little space."

"No, no, no." Castle shook his head with each 'no'. "I got married and divorced twice in between the time Kyra asked for space and when I saw her next - at her _wedding_."

Ryan's eyes widened. "Not that Lanie is going to get married anytime soon..."

"Would you guys stop using the m-word. That's what started this mess in the first place!"

"I already told you, Jenny felt really bad about that!" Ryan's voice trembled between defending his fiancé and soothing his best friend.

"I know, man, I know. We both just freaked out... It doesn't matter. We weren't ready to have the conversation."

"So, tell her that!" Castle urged. "Not everyone has to be as sickeningly cute as Ryan and Jenny -"

"- or attached at the hip like Castle and Beckett," Ryan added, with only a small glare in Castle's direction.

"- that doesn't mean you stop seeing each other. You're in love with her."

Esposito looked back and forth between his two smiling friends. "If I go talk to her... Can you promise me that we will _never_ have another conversation about relationships and _feelings_ again?"

"At least for a couple days," Castle agreed readily.

"Whatever," Esposito muttered, before draining the rest of his beer, grabbing his coat and walking out the door.

Castle held out one hand for a 'feed the bird' tap from Ryan as he pulled out his cellphone with the other.

_Mission accomplished. Esposito's on his way over. Lanie better be ready, Yenta._

It took less than 5 seconds before he got a reply.

_I said no code names, Castle._

He was typing out that she had only nixed Dolly as a code name, not names in general, when a second message came in.

_Good job, though. Meet you at Remy's in 30?_

A smile spread across his face. "I've got to go, Ryan. Looks like my regular plans might not have fallen through after all."

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><p><strong>AN: **I've been having a touch of writer's block recently, so I needed to write _something_ to help me get over that. This is what came of that lol


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